I am an artist too http://archure.net/pecuous/art.html
and a Musician and Photographer.
I met Bill a few times, like his Art, very nice, good taste (and nice background drumming at his nice web site, the best ever).

Bill Kreutzmann and Little Hercules Jam in Kauai, HI
A Summer of Love, 40 years Later

Little Hercules began their first tour of Hawaii in Kauai on May 25, 2007. The band targeted HI as a perfect place to share their unique sound, to plant seeds for future tours and to make some new friends. Little did the band know that on the second day of their tour their journey would take a magical and mystical turn.

The second day of the tour saw Little Hercules headline the local radio station, KKCR, benefit concert. The show started with guitarist David Gans (host of the Grateful Dead Hour) along with guitarist Ken Emerson, percussionist Shanawo (the Warlocks), flutist Renee-Wo, and Kevin Rodgers performing. The Little Hercules rhythm section was asked to sit in for this set. Little Hercules would like to share with you who these musicians are: David Gans is a musician who has multiple solo record releases. In addition, he has been a guest musician on records such as “Well Matched” the best of Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia and “The Music Never Stopped – the roots of the Grateful Dead”. In addition he was an archivist for the Grateful Dead and hosts the “Grateful Dead Hour”. Ken Emerson recently won a Grammy for his performance on “Slat Key Guitar Vol. 2”. In addition to his love of traditional Hawaiian music, Ken has played and/or toured with many luminaries in the musical world beyond Hawaii including Todd Rundgren, Taj Mahal, Boz Scaggs, Jackson Browne, Donald Fagen, Dave Mason, Charlie Musselwhite, Elvin Bishop, Graham Nash, San Francisco’s Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann, Pablo Cruise Band and The Rowan Brothers. Most recently Ken worked on Donald Fagen latest CD. Percussionist Shanawo was in the band the Warlocks, who later turned into the Grateful Dead. Today he and his wife Renee-Wo create and record spiritual, meditative, and tribal music that they feel is for the enlightenment of all beings. Kevin “Swamp Daddy” Rogers is a musician, DJ for KKCR and concert promoter for the islands of Hawai’i. The band, consisting of all the above mentioned performers, played a number of traditional blues songs including the song “Love Light”.

After this great set of music Little Hercules took the stage to do their thing. The local crowd embraced the band’s music and lots of dancing and good times were being had. The band was pleasantly surprised to hear that founding drummer of the Grateful Dead, was in the crowd and introduced himself and asked to play with Little Hercules. The band was honored and took a short break to switch the drum kit from the lefty style of Brian Loftus to the righty style of Bill Kreutzmann. Little Hercules and Bill ripped into “Fire on the Mountain” at sunset while overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They proceeded to play “Franklin’s Tower” and the Meters’ “Hey Pocky a Way”. Smiles were everywhere and the audience danced from the twilight, through sunset and into the night.

Later that same night Little Hercules played another gig, this time in Hanalei Bay at Sushi and Blues. The band was glowing from their experience earlier that day and by nightfall, the word was out. Little Hercules was on Kauai and hit it like a hurricane. The venue was packed with eager fans ready to dance and enjoy another night in paradise. As the night got steamier and the music thumped louder, Little Hercules was informed that Bill Kreutzmann was in the house and would like to play with the band again. What an honor, twice in one day! Again, after a short break to switch the drums around Little Hercules and Bill had their second musical experience. The stage was set for yet another magical musical experience, seeds were being planted and friends were being made.

Later that weekend, the band received a call and was invited to play a party hosted by Bill. The venue was the legendary “House of Spirits”. A plethora of music had been inspired at this place, the history is rich, and Little Hercules was about to be a part of that history. Little Hercules came prepared with two drum sets on this night, this way the entire Little Hercules band could experience the music with Bill. The first song was “Franklin’s Tower”, one of Bill’s favorites, and then they moved into Little Hercules’ “Malt Liquor Revelation” and the Meters’ “Look ka py py”. The rain came to add extra electricity to the already thick atmosphere. Love was on our side. The audience picked up a tarp and held it over the band while it rained, and the music never stopped. We had never seen a tarp dance in action before, the audience didn’t miss a beat. This was the epitome of the connection between audience and musician that magical experiences are built upon. Remember the Summer of Love, 1967? You get the idea.

That’s what we can share with you thus far. What we do know is this is the beginning of many things to come with our new friends. Thank you Bill for a truly inspiring musical experience! Little Hercules looks forward to our next meeting! Thank you John, Kevin, Minturn Posse, Luke and Greg, Hauss and Co. all of our Kauai friends. Plans are in the works for a return trip in September 2007. Detail to be released soon. Little Hercules can’t wait to return!

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